Production motor vehicles are required to pass various safety tests to ensure that they are sufficiently safe for use on public roads. In particular, it is desirable that the risk of injury to pedestrians is minimised in the event of a collision between a pedestrian and a motor vehicle, in particular a collision between a pedestrian and the front or leading end of a motor vehicle.
Frequently, motor vehicles are provided with a grille located at a front end of the vehicle. The grille is often located between the bumper and bonnet or hood of the vehicle. The vehicle grille can serve to provide an opening or aperture through which air may flow into the engine compartment of the vehicle in order to facilitate the provision of air to the air inlet of the engine or cooling air to the vehicle radiator. The grille may also serve to provide structural rigidity to the front end of the vehicle by being fixedly connected, for example with rivets or other fixing means, to the bumper and/or bonnet or hood of a vehicle. In view of the prominent position of the grille, often at the front end of a vehicle, the grille is also designed in view of aesthetic considerations. Therefore, the grille needs to look good. Often, the grille is highly distinctive and its style, shape and/or quality may become closely associated with the brand of motor vehicle, such as the Aston Martin (registered trade mark) grille whose shape is highly distinctive and whose typical quality metal construction exemplifies the very high quality and craftsmanship associated with the motor vehicle generally. Some motor cars have a grille of plastics which is difficult to make look particularly high quality. Some motor cars include compliant mouldings near the motor car front. This does not allow a single bonnet part, e.g. of metal, to extend fully to the front of the vehicle and requires the additional panel components.